ArticlePloS one2020
How does social capital affect individual health among the elderly in rural China?-Mediating effect analysis of physical exercise and positive attitude.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Social capital and physical activity: a literature review up to March 2024.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- The longitudinal relationships between social networks, trust and depression: a cross-lagged panel network analysis.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- The impact of physical exercise on depression among college students: the mediating role of core self-evaluation and meaning in life.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Significant associations between multidimensional factors and physical activity among older adults: an application of Andersen's behavioral model.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The impact of digital literacy on rural residents' sports participation behavior:evidence from China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Active experiences in volume management among peritoneal dialysis patients with long duration: A qualitative study.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2025Article
- The mediating role of psychological capital in health behaviors among elderly nursing home residents.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Effects of physical activity, social capital on positive emotions in older adults-A study based on data from the 2022 CFPS survey.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Rural active aging as a development strategy: Nexus of physical exercise participation and multidimensional poverty in China.PloS one · 2025Article
- Sleep duration and cognitive function among rural older adults in China: A population-based study.PloS one · 2025Article
- The relationship between social capital and health from a configuration perspective: an evidence from China.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Aging in place in rural Northeast China: a mixed methods examination of the influence of social capital on mental well-being in middle and late adulthood.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- The Impact of Multidimensional Poverty on Rural Households' Health: From a Perspective of Social Capital and Family Care.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The Influence of Physical Exercise Frequency and Intensity on Individual Entrepreneurial Behavior: Evidence from China.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Income Disparity and Mental Wellbeing among Adults in Semi-Urban and Rural Areas in Malaysia: The Mediating Role of Social Capital.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Association between social capital and sleep duration among rural older adults in China.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Can leisure and entertainment lifestyle promote health among older people living alone in China?-A simultaneous equation approach.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Association between changes in social capital and mental well-being among older people in China.PeerJ · 2022Article
- Social Capital and Self-Perceived Quality of Life-Interrelated Predictors of Mediterranean Diet Adherence in Older Adults.Nutrients · 2021Article
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4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundThe elderly in rural areas comprise over half of the older population in China, and their health problems are a matter of great concern for the Chinese government and society. Among the many factors affecting health, social capital has generated much interest in academic research. Exploring the relationship between social capital and individual health among the elderly in rural China provides ways to improve the health of Chinese people, which has a positive impact on policy.
methodsWe selected 3719 respondents from the 2016 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). Structural and cognitive social capital were obtained via exponentiation of variables (mean of zero and a standard deviation of one) and by giving them equal weight. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and two-stage least squares (2SLS) estimators were used to analyze the association between social capital and individual health. We explored the mechanism linking structural and cognitive social capital with individual health through a mediation effect analysis.
resultsAfter correcting for endogeneity bias, structural social capital had a positive correlation with individual health among the elderly, with a coefficient of 0.062 (95% CI: 0.020-0.104). Cognitive social capital also had a positive correlation with individual health, with a coefficient of 0.097 (95% CI: 0.060-0.135). Physical exercise and positive attitude were two significant mediating variables of the relationship between social capital and individual health in the study group, with mediating effects of 0.018 and 0.054, respectively.
conclusionsCognitive social capital played a stronger role than structural social capital in promoting individual health among the elderly. Physical exercise and positive attitude mediated the relationship between social capital and individual health. Policymakers should not only build basic medical and health care systems but also consistently cultivate and strengthen structural and cognitive social capital among the elderly in rural China.
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